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Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Preview

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Posted by Patrick on Sep 26, 2008 in Cameras, Reviews

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The 12 megapixel G1 from Panasonic is the first camera implementing the micro four thirds format. It is as the format promised, much smaller than a conventional DSLR (but not as small as I had expected), while still being fully featured. In my view, what really is impressive about the G1 is Panasonic’s implemetation of Live View, it is incredibly well featured, and as one would expect shares that data with the EVF ( micro 4/3 does away with the traditional optical viewfinder). Digital Camera Resource Page has got their hands on the G1 and their preview raves about that EVF:

Above the LCD is what may be the best electronic viewfinder in the world (Panasonic calls it a Live View Finder). It packs, get this, 1.44 million pixels — a typical EVF has a little over 200,000! The resolution isn’t the only thing that’s high, as this EVF has a magnification of 1.4X, which is well above what you’d find on a comparable D-SLR. The EVF uses something called a field sequential system that has independent red, green, and blue pixels. This allows for better color and sharpness, and a mind-boggling 180 fps refresh rate. I found that it can be a little weird to use, though, as it appears to “flicker” when you move your eye or blink. If you’re familiar with the “rainbow effect” on older DLP televisions, then this will sound familiar. The viewfinder has an sensor that knows when your eye is against it, so you can switch between the LCD and EVF without pressing a button. You can adjust the focus of the EVF by using the diopter correction knob on the left side.

-Jeff Keller/Digital Camera Resource Page

There does seem to be some issues with ergonomics, and due to the smaller form factor, this seems natural, but in general this first impression seems pretty positive, although the focus of the preview is centered around functionality with no discussion of image quality. The Panasonic does seem like a pretty interesting camera, but I still feel like better things are yet to come from the micro 4/3 format (indeed, Panasonic has announced a version of the G1 with HD video will be released early next year, why wouldn’t you wait?)

In the meantime, get Digital Camera Resource’s preview of the Panasonic G1 here.

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